A Deed of Dreadful Note

Written by Patricia Meredith

Narrated by Patricia Meredith

Fifteen years before Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published A Study in Scarlet, Anna Katharine Green began writing The Leavenworth Case, inspiring the creation of detectives like Sherlock, Poirot, and Wimsey, as well as almost every device and convention we now recognize as standard in detective mystery fiction.

When her father's client is found murdered, Anna takes up the call to prove innocent the young girl accused of the murder. The investigation inspires many of the events, characters, and descriptions that would later be published in her debut novel.

A love letter to mystery and writing itself, A Deed of Dreadful Note is an homage and reintroduction to an author who was the Agatha Christie of her time but a forgotten female today.

This book is a fictionalized account of how Anna Katharine Green’s first novel may have come to be…

A Deed of Dreadful Note is Book One in the Anna Katharine Green Mysteries, the only historical fiction series featuring the Mother of Detective Fiction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Games Afoot, LLC
• Release date: May 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798368991498

Reviews for A Deed of Dreadful Note

[Kayla Yetman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4.5/5 Stars Rounded to 5 Stars

A story built from passion with incredible delivery. A Deed of Dreadful Note by Patricia Meredith is the first book in a new self-published historical fiction series, the Anna Katherine Green Mysteries.

This story depicts how Anna Katherine Green’s first novel may have come to be. When her father’s client is found murdered, Anna joins in the investigations to help prove the innocence of the young girl accused of the murder. While the investigation is ongoing, Anna begins writing her own mystery.

At this point, it’s safe to say that Patricia Meredith has quickly become one of my favourite authors. With each novel I’ve read by her, I found myself in binge-worthy reads evoking a variety of experiences from shock, heart break and delight, all while trying to solve the mystery alongside the characters. Her ability to craft loveable characters, intriguing mysteries and cover topics of mental health and disabilities with sensitivity while remaining historically accurate are impressive.

A Deed of Dreadful Note captured much of this. I quickly came to care for the character’s and found myself rooting for Anna as she tried to solve a murder and find herself as an author. Patricia Meredith also leaves multiple trails of breadcrumbs throughout the story for readers to follow, while sowing doubt. This allowed me a chance to try and solve the mystery alongside Anna making me that much more invested.

Part of what made this so compelling is seeing it all through Anna’s perspective. She is an observant and strong character, continually facing every obstacle with determination. Even while pushing the social expectations of the period, she remains believable.

In fact, the same can be said for the side cast, as they receive similar care in their development, roles, and relationships. Making it easy to connect with the characters while still questioning everything to solve the murder. Now, the banter between characters was spot on and had me keeping score, while naturally building their relationships.

As this is a fictionalized tale of the real author Anna Katherine Green, and the journey that might have been while writing her first novel. The attention to detail in the historical aspects, not just the time period but also accounts from the authors life, are impressive. It truly is a project of passion with how much thought has gone into creating this story and Anna’s character based off the real author.

In terms of pacing, it shifted between medium to a whirlwind of an ending. Including plenty of suspense, suspicion, emotional moments, and twists along the way.

I did immersion read this with the ebook and audiobook. Patricia Meredith narrates the story herself and she did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life.

A Deed of Dreadful Note is yet another book by Patricia Meredith I can’t recommend enough.